Nueva Ecija - Tourist Attractions

Tourist Attractions

Nueva Ecija is the largest province and the biggest rice producer of Central Luzon and the Philippines, thus, often referred to as the “Rice Bowl of the Philippines.”

Historical

Gapan City
The first Augustinian mission in lowland Nueva Ecija was founded in Gapan City in 1595. It is home to a Roman Catholic church of Byzantine architecture built from 1856 to 1872.

Historic Barrio Labi (Bongabon)
The resthouse of the Quezon family is located in this barrio, along the National Highway going to Baler, Aurora. It is also the place of death of Mrs. Aurora Quezon, wife of former Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezon.

Tabacalera of San Isidro
Centuries-old brick walls of the Tabacalera in San Isidro remain as witness to the Novo Ecijanos’ 100-year oppression, from 1782 to 1882, when the province became the center of the tobacco monopoly in Central Luzon and was thus restricted from raising other crops.

Gen Luna Statue and Marker (Cabanatuan City)
A statue of Philippine hero General Antonio Luna astride a horse stands at the plaza in front of the cathedral on the exact spot where the brave general was assassinated in 1899 in the city that adopted him subsequently.

Apolinario Mabini Marker (Cuyapo)
Site of the arrest of Philippine hero Apolinario Mabini, known as “the sublime paralytic,” by the Americans on December 10, 1899.

Trial House
Owned by revolutionary leader and Novo Ecijano General Manuel Tinio. Built during the early Commonwealth period, it features ornately designed turn-of-the-century furniture and a life-size figure of esteemed Nove Ecijano Don Kapitan Berong in stained glass.

Sedeco of San Isidro
The Grand Sedeco house in San Isidro, which General Emilio Aguinaldo frequented, marks this gallant town that has proven time and again to be cradle of Filipino heroes. It was here that General Frederick Funston planned the capture of Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippine republic, during the Philippine-American war.

Wright Institute of San Isidro
One of the first high schools established outside Metro Manila during the American period.

Dalton Pass
Located in Capintalan, Carranglan, the five-hectare area blessed with a cool climate houses the monument of General Dalton and a tower that borders the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya. Uphill is a World War II memorial in black marble where a historical account of the war had been etched in English and Japanese.

Camp Pangatian (Cabanatuan City)
Began as a military training camp for twenty years until converted into a concentration camp for allied prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation. A popular tourist destination among war veterans by way of the WWII Veteran’s Homecoming Program.

Cultural
Churches of Nampicuan, Carranglan, and Pantabangan
Church ruins of identical Augustinian architecture can still be found in the three upland missions.

Natural
Minalungao Park
Declared as a national park, it features a breathtaking view of the narrow but deep Penaranda River. On both sides of the river bank are 16 meter high limestone walls. The ridge formation of white sculptured limestone walls shows the might of the great river.

General Luna Fall (Rizal)
The easternmost barrio of Rizal nestled uphill on the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain range boasts of one of Central Luzon’s hidden treasures: a towering waterfall of more than a hundred feet descending widely across a rocky mountain wall into over twenty pools of varying levels and depths.

Mt. Olivete (Bongabon)
A hundred-step stair leads to the church built by the Adarnista spiritual community on the mountaintop. Frequented by pilgrims who bathe in and drink the water of its springs believing it to be medicinal.

Capintalan (Carranglan)
Maintained by the Kalanguya tribal community from Ifugao, its rivers and low-lying hill are ideal for hiking and communing with nature. A gateway to the Cagayan Valley, it was a strategic location during WWII’s liberation period. Tunnels, war artifacts, and stories of gold digging abound in the area.

Palaspas Falls
Located in San Jose City, it is ideal for picnics and bathing especially during summer.

Gabaldon Falls
The lure of Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija. The ten-feet falls are surrounded by huge rock formations and rippling ice-cold water. Located within the 200-hectare Sabani Estate Agricultural College.

Religious
Church of Penaranda (Nueva Ecija) – The church of Penaranda was erected in 1869 by Fr. Florentino Samonte. Construction was continued by Fr. Candicho San Miguel from 1879 to 1881 and by Fr. Santos Vega from 1887 to 1889. From 1889 to 1891, the parochial house of bricks and wood was built by Fr. Valentin Gatode la Fuente. Fr. Alvaro Callega built the original church with thatch-roof and stone walls

Man-Made
Diamond Park (San Jose City)
Strategically located at the gateway to the Cagayan Valley, it is a haven for picnics and sightseeing. Its hundred-step stair leads to lamp-lit pagodas nestled on hilltops and offering a panoramic view of northern Nueva Ecija.

Pantabangan Dam
Built in 1974 along the Pampanga River to serve as reinforcement against flood, and provide irrigation, additional electricity in the entire Luzon island, the dam was built by Filipino engineers under the supervision of the National Irrigation Administration. Pantabangan Dam is now one of the most visited tourist spots in the province. The place offers a scenic view of the surrounding area. Tourists will also appreciate the dam's engineering wonders.

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
The Philippine Rice Research Institute, located at Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, is the central station of agricultural experimentation, it is the only one of its kind throughout the country. It was created to develop and implement a natural rice research and development program, sustain the grains made in rice production and solve location-specific problems of the rice industry. A variety of rice wine is produced at the center.

Central Luzon State University (CLSU)
Located in the outskirts of the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, the 658-hectare main campus of CLSU is famous for its old shady trees, model farm, vegetable and ornamental plant gardens. Nueva Ecija has been referred to as the “Agricultural Central of Luzon.”

Agricultural Museum (CLSU)
A socio-cultural arm for information in Central Luzon, it is the first and the only one of its kind in the country. The materials on display are preserved and maintained to promote the cultural heritage of Filipinos in Central Luzon. The museum has six sections: rice and vegetable planting implements; household ingredients utensils; personal apparel; hunting and fishing implements.

Living Fish Museum (CLSU)
Showcases indigenous and tropical freshwater fishes collected form different provinces in Luzon.

Rubber Dam
Llanera, Nueva Ecija - Asia's first and only rubber dam

Special Interest
Farm Tours
Tour of agri-based institutions of Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, including a farming technology tour at the Central Luzon State University and plant tour of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) and Philippine Carabao Center.

Gross Ostrich Farm
San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija - Located in Brgy. Tagumpay, San Leonardo, Gross Ostrich Farm grows, breeds and propagates imported ostriches both for human consumption and for tourism such as sale of decorative eggs, leather wallets, colorful feathers and other by-products. Ostriches reach a height of about 7 – 8 feet, weighs 110 – 130 kg, runs at a speed of 60 km/h, has a lifespan of 50 – 80 years and a breeding life of 20 – 25 years. Tha farm produces fillet meat at P600/kl, steak at P500/kl and stir fry at P400/kl. On-site farm visits to view the "big birds" in their natural habitat are organized for students and professionals alike.

CLSU Concrete Tank Culture for Tilapia
Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija - This one-of-a-kind breeding farm showcases intensive culture of tilapia in concrete circular tanks, with provisions for continuous water exchange and aeration. Each tank is stocked with 6,000 tilapia fingerlings. Estimated output is 1,000 kg. of table-size fish after four months of culture.

Philippine Carabao Center
(Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija) The Philippine Carabao Center was created in 1993 as an offshoot of the Carabao Development Program, through Republic Act 7307. It is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, mandated to "conserve, propagate and promote the carabao as a source of draft animal power, meat, milk and hide, to benefit the rural farmers." Services at the center include: artificial insemination, bull loan, production of quality breeding animals and germplasm, technical assistance and training and carabao-based enterprise development. The center breeds and cross-breeds, through artificial insemination, animals called Murrah Buffaloes, a species of the dairy type from India, Bulgaria and some countries like North and Latin America. This type can produce an average of eight liters of milk daily in 300 days. Top-performing ones can produce 12 - 15 liters per day.